I had a tropical fish tank and bought four Platys (type of fish) and within a week or two all but one was dead even though I had been feeding them regularly and the tempurature was fine so I got eight Mollys (type of fish) and within about a month they were all dead. My uncle said it was the fact that they might live in salty water and there was no salt in the water and my friends mum said it was because I hadn't rinsed the tank out before I bought it. I had left the water a week like the shop said before homing the fish and replaced all the water before I got the Mollys so why did they all die so soon :/ ???
2007-11-23 04:20:22 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
did you cycle your tank for a least 4 weeks be fore adding fish,if you did not then you probably had an ammonia spike in your tank which killed your fish.
2007-11-23 04:33:24 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
It definately was not your fish that where sick, it was your tank which was not established
As you stated yourself, you waited one week before adding these fish after you cleaned it again before adding the mollies, you answered your question yourself already
Any tank needs to go through a cycling proces, which takes anywhere from 6-8 weeks and not just one
it goes through the nitrogen cycle where ammonia will be build up and converted into nitrites and then converted into nitrAtes
This means you will experience an ammonia and nitrite spike before you will have any nitrAte readings, which is the end product of the nitrogen cycle
you can do a fishlesscyle or you can do it with fish, but platies and mollies are the wrong choice for it
danios are the ones which are very hardy and can live through the stress of the cycling process
Read the articles on this site
http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles.html
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
Hope that helps
Good luck
EB
2007-11-23 13:45:38 · answer #2 · answered by Kribensis lover 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Buy yourself a PH testing kit. They're relatively cheap. Fish are very sensitive to PH levels. Also, when you buy fish you can't just dump them in the tank right away. You have to immerse the bag they're in into the water for an hour or two. There's a difference in water temperature between the bag and the tank. Dumping them in shocks the fish, so you have to let them get adjusted to the temperature of the tank.
Your mum is right. You should rinse any new tank, but never ever wash it with soap and water. Soap leaves a film that can kill fish. Good luck on your next ones!
p.s. if you're going to clean your tank and you have live fish, transfer them before pouring water out. It's too easy for them to slip right down the drain.
2007-11-23 12:30:42 · answer #3 · answered by siava101 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it could have been due to an illness that spread but could have also been due to something wrong with the water such as high nitite levels etc. which would kill the fish if not treated.
next time buy a water testing kit. test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and general hardyness. then if something shows as being wrong you can correct it.did you replace the water and right away get the fish? if so you could have flushed out all the good bacteria in the tank and so developed "new tank syndrome"
research it on the web and you will see what happens and the best remedys
2007-11-23 13:14:46 · answer #4 · answered by bebishenron 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You didn't properly cycle the tank. Get a book and read about cycling a tank before you get the fish. Cycling is a month long or longer process. It involves testing the water and changing a % of the water on a daily basis until amonnia, nitrites, and nitrate levels get to the correct readings.
You can't just get a tank, fill it with water, and plop fish in it. They will die every time.
2007-11-23 14:20:53 · answer #5 · answered by Overt Operative 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There could have been a disease in the tank because of one of the fish... Also its not just the temp you need to worry about but also the acidity. Overfeeding can cause damage as well.
Also, some fish do require (even in a freshwater tank) a tablespoon or so of salt, this helps with the health of the fish...
I would empty the tank, clean it out. fill it back up and put the proper chemicals in it.. then try again
2007-11-23 12:25:10 · answer #6 · answered by kon11stantine11 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's because you didn't rinse the tank with tap water, it's very important to make sure you do. one of the fish may have been diseased, which went on to the next fish, then the next and so on.
Another reason is that the fish went lethargic and couldn't be bothered to eat. The reason they go lethargic is due to the death of one of the other fish.
sorry to hear about your mollys.
2007-11-27 11:27:21 · answer #7 · answered by chass8 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several things that you have to consider. How was the ph level in the tank? Is there an excess of bad bacteria? Is the filter working properly? What about the ammonia level? Take a sample of the water to get tested at the pet store. They can test it and tell you exactly what is going on.
2007-11-23 12:25:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Maybe it is where u are getting them from. Check to see if the tanks in the pet shop hold dead fish. It might disease Ur fish. Also,maybe the fish are old when you by them and are going to die anyway.Made sure you thoroughly wash the tank.
2007-11-23 12:30:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
its got to be the water.. bet if u were to buy the whole tank they were in they would be okay.. test the ph like someone else said of the tank they were taken out of and find out if it was salt water then maybe the temp. also and try to get the tank you have as close to those variables as possible..
if that doesnt help, then like someone else said they were probably already sick..
2007-11-23 12:31:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋